Jody Singer, appointed the first female director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville in 2018, is retiring from the job effective July 29.
Marshall’s deputy center director, Joseph Pelfrey, will serve as interim acting director while a search for Singer’s successor is conducted.
“I wish Jody well during her retirement. And I know individuals at the beginning of their career at NASA – and members of the Artemis Generation who dream of working here – will be inspired by Jody’s service, knowing their contributions can help return NASA astronauts to the Moon and prepare us for crewed missions to Mars,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “And Joseph Pelfrey is no stranger to Marshall, having joined the center two decades ago as an aerospace engineer. Today, he helps guide Marshall’s broad portfolio of human spaceflight, science and technology development, which supports missions across NASA. We are confident Joseph is prepared to guide Marshall through this transition.”
During Singer’s tenure as director, Marshall has expanded its portfolio to include human lunar landing and cargo systems, as well as space habitation and transit systems, advanced propulsion, additive manufacturing and more. The Marshall team has been a major player in developing NASA’s Webb Space Telescope and the Space Launch System, among other projects.
Singer joined NASA in 1985, working with the Space Shuttle Program Office, where she was part of 110 space shuttle launches. She held several leadership roles at Marshall before becoming director.
